Joe Zucker

Joe Zucker
1941-
First 100 yard roll of '96' width cotton duck ...
1978
Porous-point pen on wove paper.
18 15/16 x 24 in. (48.1 x 60.96 cm)
Gift of Sandra K. Silver.
Courtesy of Joe Zucker
2017.380
Notes: 

Known for his use of unusual materials--his early paintings were made of cotton balls--Zucker frequently takes the materials of art production, such as canvas and paint brushes, as subjects. This drawing belongs to a series of works, including paintings on thick cotton fiber, addressing the fraught history of cotton production in the United States. Its inscription references Eli Whitney's invention of the cotton gin, a machine for separating cotton from its seeds, which revolutionized the production of cotton in the early nineteenth century but also increased demand for slave labor.

Provenance: 
Holly Solomon Gallery, New York; Collection of Sandra K. Silver.
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